Development of a grinding-specific performance test set-up.

The aim of this study was to develop a performance test set-up for America's Cup grinders. The test set-up had to mimic the on-boat grinding activity and be capable of collecting data for analysis and evaluation of grinding performance. This study included a literature-based analysis of grinding demands and a test protocol developed to accommodate the necessary physiological loads. This study resulted in a test protocol consisting of 10 intervals of 20 revolutions each interspersed with active resting periods of 50 s. The 20 revolutions are a combination of both forward and backward grinding and an exponentially rising resistance. A custom-made grinding ergometer was developed with computer-controlled resistance and capable of collecting data during the test. The data collected can be used to find measures of grinding performance such as peak power, time to complete and the decline in repeated grinding performance.